New Sherlock trailer debuts

New Sherlock trailer debuts

There's a brand new Sherlock trailer which has just debuted.

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, the series is due to screen in winter on the BBC.

The clip entitled #SherlockLives is available to view here..

Ping Pong: DVD Review

Ping Pong: DVD Review

Rating: PG
Released by Vendetta Home Ent

A documentary about the sport of table tennis with a central cast whose combined age hits nearly 703? I'd almost written it off as Young@Heart but with sport instead of singing to be honest.

In this British documentary, Hugh Hartford follows the trials and tribulations as well as charting the build up to the World Championship finals in China by tracking some of the global OAP competitors.There's 81 year old Terry, a Brit who's been struck by a return of his prostate cancer issues; 89 year old Les is a fellow UK dweller and philosopher, who takes his training seriously and can be found at the gym doing weights to get in shape; 89 year old German Inge whose training's helped get her out of dementia ward - and the oldest competitor Dorothy from Australia, whose 100 years gives her celeb status at home and also at the championships.

Hartford tracks the lives of 9 of these but spends more time off the championship floor and manages to capture a spirit of fierce competitiveness as well as their tenacity for life as the end approaches. He builds their back stories so that you're invested in them as the competition nears; with moments and a style that's non-intrusive, Hartford manages to imbue the piece with heart, humour and pathos.  In a couple of sequences, he skirts around the sentimental path before deciding to concentrate on the characters rather than tugging on the heart-strings. It's a wise move which pays off once the final tournament takes place and then the sly humour kicks in as one competitor hopes she gets the opponent who can't move around the table so that she can win. As the crowds give their approval at the results among the pomp and pageantry of the ping pong world in China, it's something akin to a gladiator seeking the emperor's favour in an auditorium and it's intoxicating for both the competitors and the viewers.

With gallows humour, gentle tension and a typical deadpan Brit eye for detail and moments, Ping Pong is as much a celebration of life as it is an inspirational piece; a simply put together film which shows once the twilight comes you don't have to just give up, but celebrate the spirit that dwells within.

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ZB Radio - The Hunger Games, Filth, and Man of Steel

ZB Radio - The Hunger Games, Filth, and Man of Steel

Get the latest reviews from my time with Jack Tame on News Talk ZB

This week, it was Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, James McAvoy in Filth, and Superman in Man of Steel.

Oh, and a mention of Dr Who and my mum's birthday! All in 4 1/2 minutes!

http://newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/player/ondemand/1538236252-darren-bevan-at-the-movies--the-hunger-games

Enough Said: Movie Review

Enough Said: Movie Review

Cast: Julia Louis Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, Toni Collette, Ben Falco
Director: Nicole Holofcener


Tis a rare beast - a rom-com that feels fresh, doesn't rely on cliches and doesn't short change the characters and the audience.

It's an even rarer one that tackles an older set of protagonists, and does such a wonderful job of it. (Sure, we've had Hope Springs, but....)

Enough Said, from Walking and Talking director Nicole Holofcener, is the tale of divorced and single parent Eva (played with wonderful realism by VEEP and Seinfeld star Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Saddled with a massive masseuse table and moving from client to client, Eva is worried about her daughter's impending departure for college.

A chance meeting at a party throws her into the path of self-confessed slob Albert (James Gandolfini in his last full movie role), who's in a similar situation. Despite Eva's initial dismissal of Albert, she finds herself attracted to him and a romance blossoms.

But there's a stumble in this road to romance - one of Eva's clients is always bitching about her ex-husband and revealing the real reasons why she left . That sends Eva into a tailspin of doubt over Albert - however, there are bigger revelations ahead.

Enough Said is an absolute delight of a movie, an incisive and often hilarious insight into relationships later in life and an examination of how people's foibles can prove to be their undoing. Gently unassuming and charmingly honest, it's a film that deserves to stand on its own two feet rather than being mired in the sentiment of it being one of James Gandolfini's last before his untimely death.

Both Gandolfini and Louis-Dreyfus absolutely nail their roles, imbuing each with warmth and a raw honesty that's completely compelling and utterly entrancing. Gandolfini in particular displays a softer, more melancholy and self-deprecating side to his character that's so rarely been seen due to his more hard men roles like The Sopranos and his turn in Killing Them Softly. The screen crackles with their repartie and it never feels try hard or forced; ultimately their chemistry is disarming and enthralling to watch.

Louis-Dreyfus displays her usual touch of light comedy for the majority of the film and manages to fill her character with recognisable traits and touches. It helps that there's a well-observed script which dances over the material with ease, while skirting into the bittersweet territory of the flow and ebb of post marriage relationships / adult romances.

All in all, Enough Said deserves to be seen for more reasons than it's simply one of James Gandolfini's last films. It's an incisive, insightful, gently unassuming yet beautifully put together heartfelt adult romantic comedy which has a warmth running through its cinematic veins.

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Auckland man first in the world to get XBoxOne

Auckland man first in the world to get XBoxOne

An Auckland man is the first in the world to get his hands on the XBoxOne console.

Dan Livingstone of Auckland won the honour at the launch of the next generation console at Shed 10 in the city just moments ago.

Dan said he'd never come first in anything at all - and was overwhelmed at being the first person in the world to be given the new console after a series of draws.

Around a thousand people packed into the glitzy event at Auckland's Viaduct which saw Kim Dotcom among the hardcore gamers who were queueing to ensure they got their chance to be in line to get the new console.

Sights from the launch of the XBoxOne - first launch in the world

Sights from the launch of the XBoxOne - first launch in the world

The XBoxOne console's launched in New Zealand tonight with the country the first in the world to get the brand new Next Generation console.

At an event in Auckland, gamers and fans mingled waiting to get their hands on the console.

Here are some sights from the XBoxOne launch event. Including the first person in the world to officially own the new XBoxOne, Auckland man Dan Livingstone.

Delivery Man: Movie Review

Delivery Man: Movie Review

Cast: Vince Vaughn, Chris Pratt, Cobie Smulders
Director: Ken Scott

A remake of a 2011 French-Canadian film called Starbuck, Delivery Man is a somewhat revelation when it comes to its leading man.

That leading man is Vince Vaughn and in this more-or-less shot-for-shot remake of the original (under the helmship of the original director Scott). Vaughn is David Wozniak, a meat delivery man, whose heart is in the right place but who can't seem to find the right time to do the right thing.

He discovers his girlfriend Emma (How I Met Your Mother's Cobie Smulders) is pregnant with their child, but due to his flakiness and the fact he's not always there, he's potentially about to be booted out of her life. Coupled with the fact he owes $80,000 to some guys who will finish him if it's not paid up, and you can see how Wozniak isn't exactly coping with the pressures of life.

But things get worse for Wozniak when the fertility clinic where he prolifically donated in his youth comes to him, revealing that he fathered some 530 plus children. And a group of those are suing the clinic to discover his identity...

Suffering a crisis of identity himself, Wozniak decides to become the guardian angel in their lives rather than fully reveal who he is....

I already know what you're thinking about Delivery Man, because I was thinking it too when I saw its lead was Vince Vaughn. You're visualising a raucous, Wedding Crashers, brash boorish kind of film that makes jokes at every turn and sees Vaughn as lead prankster. And even worse, you'd be expecting an abomination of the rather impressive original Starbuck...

Well, you'd be wrong. This turn by Vince Vaughn is, for the most part, one of his best since Swingers thanks to an introspective dialled-down, slightly muted turn by the man. Wozniak is an underachiever, a brow beaten schlub whose life is lacking meaning and whose decisions are always the wrong ones. And Vaughn manages to channel all of that with a restrained, almost at times mournful, performance that has a heart and warmth that's endearing. When Wozniak tells his father he's scared he'll disappoint, there's pathos etched across Vaughn's face aplenty.

There are occasional moments when Vaughn teeters on bringing out the over-acting, but director Scott appears to reign him back in. The interactions between Wozniak and his lawyer and brow-beaten father Brett (a terribly dry Chris Pratt) produce the lion's share of the laughs as the dryly farcical moments build up.

Scott also deserves praise - the script is tight, dryly funny when it really needs to be and he's helmed a ship which doesn't feel like your typical Hollywood dramedy. It's faithful to the original - and I'm guessing Scott had a great hand in that.

All in all Delivery Man more than delivers - and it produces one of the biggest surprises of the year from Vaughn.

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